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The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday it was awarding about $1.5 million to Jacksonville-based Fresh Ministries Inc. to help young people become more employable.

The grant was part of $44 million the agency handed out nationwide through its Face Forward initiative, which funds workforce and juvenile justice programs. The programs are also supposed to help youths who need to seal juvenile arrest records to get a second chance on employment.

“We don’t kick people to the curb in America,” Labor Secretary Thomas Perez told reporters as he announced the grants. “There is no such thing as a spare American.”

The grants were part of an “opportunity initiative” President Barack Obama’s administration has touted to raise employment and improve the economies of struggling communities.

Labor and Justice Department officials also jointly awarded $30 million in grants for work training for adult ex-offenders.

Florida non-profits landed about $8.5 million for the two efforts, among the highest state totals in the country.

Besides Fresh Ministries, the agencies awarded $5 million to Tampa-based AMIkids Inc., a youth services group, and $2 million to Fort Lauderdale-based OIC of South Florida Inc.